Power restored to thousands in Triangle as severe weather moves out

Zeta brought wind gusts as high as 60 mph in Durham Thursday afternoon. By 5 p.m., Zeta's winds had died down a bit, with wind speed of around 32 in Raleigh. More than 60,000 Duke Energy customers were without power at around noon across central North Carolina, with most outages restored by Friday morning.

Once the winds from Zeta died down, many parts of North Carolina had to contend with some strong thunderstorms as a front moved through the state. Tornado warnings were issued at one point Thursday for Alamance and Caldwell counties.

The severe weather moved toward the eastern part of the state overnight and eventually off the coast.

Multiple businesses at the shopping center at High House Rd. and Hwy. 55 were closed due to power outages.

The Lidl's and the Han-Dee Hugo's both had signs on their windows and doors to tell customers they were closed due to their systems being down.

Zeta's center of circulation was over northwestern North Carolina at 11 a.m. The strongest wind gust reported in the state was in Durham, at 56 mph.

53 mph wind gusts were reported in Charlotte. Pope Airfield, near Fort Bragg, reported a 52 mph wind gust at around noon on Thursday.

"We don't normally see storms like this move so fast," Gardner said.

Duke Energy officials said that they can't restore power with winds this high and are asking for customers to hang tight.

Duke Energy says nearly 60,000 customers in the state lacked power by mid-Thursday.

If a tree has fallen on a power line in your area, you may want to call your local authorities.

The town of Hillsborough is advising residents to stay indoors until the strong winds have passed. A large tree fell on Mitchell Street between East Queen and Cain Streets, officials said. The road will be closed until crews can remove the tree on Friday.

Viewers across the Triangle have sent photos of fallen trees and power lines.

Zeta is also producing scattered rain, especially north of Interstate 95, and severe storms are possible in the Triangle between 9 p.m. and midnight. The viewing area is under a level 1 risk for severe weather, with wind damage the biggest threat.

According to Gardner, because Zeta is moving very quickly, it should not drop much rain in the state. Less than half an inch is expected in the Triangle, with as much as 1 inch of rain possible closer to the Virginia line.

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